by Christine Cavalier
on 9 June 2008
New technology has always piqued my interest. I love gadgets and being the first to use new websites and services. It’s cool. But. And there’s always a ‘but.’ Early adoption also brings very frustrating limitations.
Knowing how close and yet how far away I am from getting my communication needs met is one of the biggest annoyances of early adoption. Let’s take today for example. I’ll soon be heading into a conference with Kid #1’s teacher. My husband is home with Kid #2. I’d like to live stream the conversation so my husband can join in. My Nokia N95, Verizon EvDO service, Cradlepoint Personal Wifi Hotspot PHS-300 and any live streaming service like Qik, Mogulus, Kyte (just to name a few of the hundreds that are popping up) would allow me to do this easily. But. And there’s always a ‘but.” Here’s where I run into limitations, both technological and social.
Firstly, Technological: I don’t know of any service that allows a private, password protected live stream. There may be one out there but I haven’t heard of it yet. I’m not keen on the whole world knowing that my kid talks too much or hates math. In our workaholic culture, it’s easy to imagine that there’s a big need for these password protected streams in both personal and business circles. This is one very good example.
Secondly, Social: Live streaming, or hell – even just recording – isn’t widely or even remotely accepted in many situations. Imagine how taken aback your kid’s teacher would be if you set up a video camera on a tripod during your conference. Even if your teacher is cool with it, you’d have to wonder if he didn’t sugarcoat his evaluation for performance’s sake. Security cameras are one thing, personal recording is another.
The tech barriers will be broken soon, once my friends at Qik.com figure out there’s a bigger need for password-protected live streams than for open ones. I have faith in the technology catching up quickly.
People, on the other hand: Not. So. Much.
Ah, well. When in doubt, roll back the progress. Go low tech. Maybe I can get away with using my cell in speakerphone mode…
What frustrates you?
by Christine Cavalier
on 6 June 2008
SUMMARY: Adam Slaney warning (or the latest one about “Richard Peel” or “ASHLEY MARC JAMES” or “”CHRISTOPHER BUTTERFIELD” or “Simon Ashton” on FaceBook) is fake.
Social media has great potential, both good and bad. It can find you help in a hurry or cause you tons of frustration. Today I had to do some investigation to determine if Facebook was the unsuspecting abettor in a “denial of service” (DoS) social network attack.
We geeks recognize a DoS attack when hackers send so many requests to a page (or so many emails, etc.), that it crashes the server, putting your website out of commission until your security team can combat the offending spam. Another DoS attack, often categorized under ‘cyberbullying’ (or, what I like to call Social Network Abuse), can be waged by one user with a way to reach many on-line contacts.
[continue reading…]
by Christine Cavalier
on 5 June 2008
In response to Spin’s note here.
by Christine Cavalier
on 28 May 2008
Wacko Wednesdays: Prosopagnosia.
For three years, I lived in a third floor walkup apartment in a lovely 7-unit brownstone building at 18th and Pine. Most of us renters were in our twenties and early thirties except “Ellen”, a woman in her late 50’s. Ellen seemed a bit strange but she was friendly and a good neighbor. We all knew each other pretty well.
Ellen, like me and half of Philadelphia, worked at the University of Pennsylvania. One night we both had worked late and ended up on the same Center City shuttle. I sat down with her and began chatting away. Ellen was more shy and reserved than normal.
Our stop came and Ellen hustled to get out of the shuttle (which, I understood perfectly – those shuttle drivers think South Street is the Autobahn). After tugging my bag free from the overstuffed masses on the shuttle, I had to jog a bit to catch up with paunchy, middle-aged Ellen, who was booking it and clutching her purse the same way I hold Peeps at Easter. Just quirky Ellen being Ellen, I thought. It was pretty dark. To help her feel more comfortable on the 2 block walk home, I continued chatting in lower tones. Ellen would nod nervously.
We arrived at the front door. Ellen’s knuckles were white around her keys. I could feel her anxiety skyrocket when I stepped up behind her, readying myself to hold the very heavy door for her. That’s when she said it.
[continue reading…]
by Christine Cavalier
on 22 May 2008
A few posts ago I wrote about humility. I get a weekly reminder that, frankly, I ain’t shit.
This is the email I get from sitemeter every single week: [continue reading…]
